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MANHATTAN, Kan. (Sept. 19) – Kansas State running back Leon Patton was accused of shaking a 2-month-old boy and charged with child abuse. He was dismissed from the team Friday.

The 20-year-old junior was arrested and jailed Thursday on $30,000 bond for his actions July 15, police said.

Patton shook the baby “feloniously and intentionally,” according to the arrest warrant. Police spokesman Lt. Kurt Moldrup said the matter was reported to police when it happened, prompting an investigation. He would not provide information on the now-4-month-old boy’s whereabouts or condition.

Patton already had been suspended from the team after a July traffic stop led to the discovery of outstanding warrants from 2007, one for stealing two video games from a Wal-Mart. He also was cited for an unpaid parking ticket. After pleading no contest, Patton was sentenced to six months’ probation and fined $100.

Kansas State coach Ron Prince announced Patton’s dismissal from the team. The school said it would make no further comment because of the investigation.

Was there any relationship between Patton and the child?

Only idiots or sickos do what Patton is accused of. It is well documented the dangers of shaking such a young child If found guilty of child abuse, I hope this Patton gets to spend a long time in jail.

Wisconsin senior linebacker Jonathan Casillas was cited for drunken driving last month while riding a mo-ped.

Casillas, who missed the eighth-ranked Badgers’ first two games because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, was stopped by a university police officer on Aug. 24 just after midnight. A breath test showed his blood alcohol concentration to be 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Casillas, 21, received three citations — first-offense drunken driving, driving with a prohibited alcohol concentration, and driving with two persons on a mo-ped.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Badgers coach Bret Bielema said he already has disciplined Casillas.

Did the coach wag a finger at Casillas and say never do this again? DUI on a moped and having a passenger on board. That shows a lack of brain matter for someone going to a major college, then what do you expect from a jock?

St. Louis Blues defenseman Erik Johnson will miss the first three days of training camp because of a knee injury sustained in a golf course accident.

Johnson, the Blues’ top draft pick pick in 2006, was trying to stop his golf cart on Tuesday when he jammed his right foot between the accelerator and brake and felt pain in his right knee, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

While Johnson was able to finish the round, he noticed swelling in the knee on Tuesday night, according to the report. The swelling got worse on Wednesday, but an initial MRI exam was inconclusive and a follow-up MRI exam is expected Sunday or Monday, the Blues said.

Who knew driving golf carts could be dangerous to a hockey player’s knee or a dugout bench in baseball a potential hazard to a MLB pitcher? I didn’t till my discharge from the hospital three weeks ago. Maybe those pain killers I took are still causing hallucinations.

Captains Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo are using the same teams as yesterday’s morning matches. The only difference being the order of players.

The matches come on NBC television at 8 a.m. Yes I’ll be watching most of it, and will update this post periodically during the day.

8:20 Update- The Palm Beach Post totally screwed up the morning pairings today in today’s paper. They used to have one of the best golf writers around in Craig Dolch. Craig took the buyout rather than lose his job when the Post cut 1/4th of its newsroom staff last month. The quality of the paper has suffered ever since.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. â€“ Michelle Wie breezed through the final round of an LPGA Tour sectional qualifying tournament on a scorching Friday in the desert, shooting a steady 1-under 71 to tie for fourth.

Completing the first step toward earning her tour card, she was 8 under after 72 holes. The 18-year-old Stanford student needed only to finish in the top 30 to advance to final qualifying tournament in Florida in December.

*****

Stacy Lewis, who tied for third at the U.S. Women’s Open this summer, shot a closing 69 in the qualifying tournament to tie Wie and Japan’s Shiho Oyama (70) at 280, eight shots behind first-place finisher Sun-Ju Ahn of South Korea (68).

Anna Nordqvist of Sweden shot a 70 to wind up second at 274, and Miki Saiki of Japan had a 69 to finish third at 276.

Wie’s game looks to be in recovery mode. I think she will earn full LPGA playing privileges in December, as should Stacy Lewis and probably Ahn also.

He collapsed two months ago following the 10th round of a fight in San Antonio Texas. From AP-

Two months after slipping into a coma following a brain injury sustained during a televised fight, San Antonio welterweight Oscar Diaz is awake and breathing on his own.

Oscar Diaz, seen here in 2006, is awake and breathing on his own, two months after falling into a coma following a 10-round TKO loss to Delvin Rodriguez.

Diaz has been upgraded from critical to stable condition, San Antonio University Hospital spokesperson Julie Wiley said Thursday morning.

“He’s opening his eyes and showing improvement. He is off the ventilator and breathing on his own,” Wiley said.

Diaz’s family and neurosurgeon Dr. David F. Jimenez were scheduled to appear at a 3 p.m. ET news conference at the hospital to provide a more detailed update on his condition.

“It’s very exciting to see Oscar open his eyes. He’s a fighter and I believe he will get better,” Theresa Diaz, his mother, said in a statement.

Diaz (26-3, 12 KOs), 25, collapsed in his corner following the 10th round of a TKO loss to Delvin Rodriguez on July 16 in the main event of “Wednesday Night Fights” on ESPN2. He was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to relieve swelling on his brain. He had been in a coma since.

All along, the doctors said they expected him to eventually come out of the coma.

Still a truly incredible story of recovery. Most comas come with either some brain damage or memory loss or both. May Diaz have a successful and as complete a recovery as possible.

The one-time 3rd overall pick, now has to take a job as an NFL 3rd stringer if he wants to stay in football. From AP-

NEW ORLEANS — The “piano man,” Joey Harrington, has landed a new gig in the birthplace of jazz. He’ll be playing third fiddle behind Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees and backup Mark Brunell.

Harrington signed with the Saints and participated in his first practice Friday at the team’s suburban training center, a day before the Saints were set to leave for Sunday’s game at Denver.

*****

Harrington, a standout at Oregon also known for his talent as a pianist, has spent six seasons in the NFL since being drafted third overall by Detroit in 2002. He played for Miami in 2006 and for Atlanta last season.

He appeared in 12 games for the Falcons, completing nearly 62 percent of his passes for 2,215 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.

*****

The Saints opened training camp with three quarterbacks, but cut Tyler Palko before the regular season and settled on reserve receiver and special teams regular Terrance Copper as their emergency third quarterback.

This week, Copper is out with a pulled hamstring, so the Saints decided to bring in Harrington, who had worked out for New Orleans in Indianapolis, where the Saints practiced during Week 1 to avoid disruptions from Hurricane Gustav.

As a Miami Dolphin follower of some two decades, I am well acquainted with Harrington’s flaws as a NFL starting QB. He piloted the Fins for most of the remaining 2006 season after Daunte Culpepper was benched. Miami’s record from week 5 on? 5-7. Not all of it Harrington’s fault, but his record since coming in the league clearly shows he is no more than an NFL backup. A 3rd string job in New Orleans seems fitting.

The Jug is the Kentucky Derby equivalent for standardbred pacers. From the Calgary Herald-

Harness Racing – Canadian owned and trained Shadow Play won the 63rd Little Brown Jug harness race on Thursday in Delaware, Ohio.

The three-year-old pacer was the 3-5 favourite to win the $551,225 US event and made short work of the field, winning the first elimination heat and then capturing the title in the second heat in the final. He paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10.

The victory was worth $161,693 for the owners, which included former Montreal Canadiens player and executive Serge Savard. Ian Moore of Charlottetown, who also trains Shadow Play, and a group from Bathurst, N.B., hold an ownership stake as well.

The final portion of harness racing’s Triple Crown is the Messenger Stakes in Yonkers, N.Y., on Oct. 25.

Shadow Play led from start to finish to win the second and deciding heat of the $551,225 Little Brown Jug Thursday at the Delaware, Ohio fairgrounds, posting a 1:50.1 finish for driver David Miller, the second Jug victory for the Ohio native. The combined time with his elim victory of 1:50 established a new world mark for two heats.

When my father’s horse named Fast Clip raced in the Jug in 1972, the winner Strike Out went in a then world record 156.3 for a pacer on a half mile track. More than six seconds have been shaved off that mark in 36 years.

Drawing post one among the three elimination winners, Miller took control from the outset, with Lonestar Legend and driver Dave Palone taking the two hole and Art Official and Ron Pierce sitting third. The three elimination winners stayed that way through an opening quarter of :28 and then Pierce tipped Art Official to the outside.

As Pierce ranged up first-over with Art Official, Miller took a peak back and kept Shadow Play to his task, reaching the half in :56.1 and three quarters in 1:23.4. Art Official began to tire around the final turn, and the dash was on to the wire.

Shadow Play drew clear from Lonestar Legend by 6 1/4 lengths, while Art Official managed to hold onto third. For driver Miller, the win was his first Jug victory since 2003 with No Pan Intended. The win almost didn’t come about as trainer Ian Moore contemplated scratching the colt after he came up sore in a front foot following his elim victory. He made a shoeing change and decided to send Shadow Play behind the gate.

In 1972, Jay Time was scratched after being raced hard in the first heat of the Jug. The horse’s owners and driver/trainer Gene Reigle worried for the horse’s health.

Shadow Play isn’t the first Canadian owned horse to win the Jug. Strike Out was Canadian owned also, it may have happened other times between 1973 and 2007.

The every other year event will begin teeing it up this morning at the Vahalla Country Club in Louisville Kentucky. At the last meeting, the Europeans routed the US by the score of 18.5 to 9.5.

No question about it, the US faces another uphill battle this year. Not just because Tiger Woods is out but because half the squad has never played in the matches before. Therefore I predict another Europe victory, this time by the score of 16.5-11.5.

Health and time permitting(I will be having both a occupational and physical therapist coming to my home between 9 and 11) I’ll post some of today’s happenings. So look for updates as the day goes on.

820 am update- Europe’s team of Harrington and Karlsson birdie the first hole to go 1 up over Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim. Is it 2010 yet?

833 update- Europe’s 2nd team of Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson also win the first hole. Europe is ahead in both the opening matches already.

845- Mickelson-Kim vs Karlsson-Harrington match now all even after 3 holes. Harrington’s tee shot on the 3rd hole finding the hazard.

850- Stenson-Casey team wins hole 2 and goes two up vs US team of Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan.

855- Mahan/Leonard team wins 3rd hole to bring match back to only 1 down for US. Mickelson/Kim and Karlsson/Harrington match birdies on hole 4, that match remains even.

The first of my therapists arrive any moment now. My next update will be delayed.

902- Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia birdie the first hole to give them a 1-up lead over Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk.

11:45- My therapists have come and gone, but I’m feeling exhausted. After eating my lunch I’m going to lay down. I’m only 5 weeks and 2 days out from having open heart surgery. My stamina isn’t the best.

As I write, the US is leading in more matches than are square or have Europe ahead.

Mickelson-Kim vs Karlsson-Harrington- Even through 16
Leonard-Mahan vs Stenson-Casey US 3 up through 15(Match is dormy)
Cink-Campbell vs Rose-Poulter- US one up through 14
Perry-Furyk vs. Westwood-Garcia- US two up through 12

If the above holds, the US would lead 3.5-.5 going into the afternoon. Wow.

Why didn’t ESPN show the first tee shots of the afternoon matches? There isn’t that much going on in the morning still that they can’t handle the afternoon too.

615- I don’t yet have the stamina to live blog all day. Got a solid rest this afternoon after taking off around 1 pm.

The US won 2 of the morning matches, and split the other two to take a surprising 3-1 lead. If the afternoon match scores hold, the USA will be up 6-2 at the end of the today. Truly incredible, no serious golf writer or prognosticator predicted that score before play. Right now Weekly-Holmes are 1 up over Westwood-Hansen with 4 holes to go. The USA has won all the matches so far concluded in the afternoon, with the exception of Rose-Poulter defeating the USA team of Stricker-Curtis.

The US could have another half right now, except for Jim Furyk and Kenny Perry squandering a 3 up lead in their morning match. They ended up halving with Westwood-Garcia.

715 Update- Holmes/Weekly come to 18 with a one-up lead then both drive the ball in the water. The US is likely to only halve the concluding match.

It is also terribly reminiscent of the morning match when Kenny Perry’s drive found the water too. Resulting in another halved match. Two good drives and the US could be up 6.5-1.5 today,

727 Update- Westwood/Soren win the final hole and halve their match with Weekly/Holmes. The US is up by 3 pts. Who would have thought it?

A movie celebrating the former Heisman Trophy winner’s life was released to movie theaters last Friday. From AP-

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Ernie Davis never wore Nikes, until now. A new statue of the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy depicts him in modern-day football gear â€” including Nike cleats.

The problem is that Davis led Syracuse to the national title in 1959 and won the Heisman two years later, before Nike was formed.

The university unveiled the Davis statue last Saturday, a day after “The Express” â€” a movie about Davis’ life â€” had its world premiere at the Landmark Theatre in downtown Syracuse. The film opens nationwide in October.

Call it an honest mistake by the sculptor, 82-year-old Bruno Lucchesi of New York City, who said he was asked to work off a picture of Davis. The school said it also sent him football gear.

The statue has Davis wearing his famous No. 44 jersey, but “NIKE” is inscribed on the heel of each cleat, there’s a swoosh on his chest, and he’s holding a helmet much different from the one he wore.

Accidents happen, but one question remains. Will any of Davis’ surviving family members(Ernie died of leukemia at age 23 in 1963) get royalties from Nike? I’m not sure if that’s a serious question or not.